Body Piercing Healing Times & The Healing Process
The healing process of the body piercing
A new body piercing will be sore, tender or red for several days up to three weeks. Complete healing of a body piercing normally takes several weeks or more. Below are more specific body piercing healing time estimates. During this period, care must be taken to avoid infection. Touching the new body piercing or body jewellery near the piercing site - or, for genital and oral body piercings, sexual activity - is usually discouraged.
Primary healing usually takes about as long as is listed below; the body jewellery should not be removed during this period. The body piercing healing time should not be rushed. Very often a body piercing that seemed to be healed will start to have problems when it is handled roughly, exposed to mouth contact or unwashed hands before it has truly healed.
Full healing starts after primary healing is complete and usually takes about as long as primary healing of the body piercing, during this period the skin thickens and starts to gain elasticity. An additional "toughening up" period takes place after full healing of the body piercing is complete, this "toughening up" period also takes about as long as the primary body piercing healing time. During "toughening up" the skin remodels itself developing an internal texture in the fistula tube that replaces the shiny scar-like internal surface.
Approximate primary body piercing healing times:
Head
Monroe / Madonna Piercing 8 - 10 weeks
Bridge Piercing 8 - 10 weeks
Cheek / Anti-eyebrow 10 - 12 weeks
Ear Cartilage 6 - 12 months
Ear lobe piercing 6 - 8 weeks
eyebrow piercing 4 - 6 weeks
eyebrow piercing 4 - 6 weeks
lip / labret 6 - 10 weeks
nose / nostril piercing 4 - 8 weeks
septum piercing 6 - 8 weeks
tongue piercing 6 - 10 weeks
tongue frenulum piercing 6 - 8 weeks
Body
female nipple piercing 6 - 12 months
male nipple piercing 2 - 4 months
navel / belly piercing 6 - 12 months
hand web piercing 6 - 9 months
surface piercing 6 - 12 months
neck nape piercing 6 - 12 months
FEMALE GENITAL PIERCINGS
clitoral hood piercing 4 - 6 weeks
clitoris piercing 2 - 4 weeks
fourchette piercing 4 - 6 weeks
labia minora 2 - 4 weeks
labia majora piercing 2 - 6 weeks
triangle piercing 8 - 10 weeks
pubic piercing 10 - 12 weeks
Male Genital Piercings
ampallang piercing 4 - 8 months
apadravya piercing 4 - 8 months
dydoe piercing 8 - 12 weeks
frenum piercing 6 - 8 weeks
guiche piercing 8 - 10 weeks
Prince Albert piercing 4 - 9 weeks
reverse Prince Albert piercing 4 - 6 months
scrotum piercing 6 - 10 weeks
foreskin piercig 6 - 8 weeks
pubic piercing 10 - 12 weeks
Over time, after the body piercing, the resulting wound is allowed to heal, forming a tunnel of scar tissue called a fistula. When the body piercing has fully healed, the initial body jewellery may be changed or removed for short periods.
Behaviour that promotes healing
Revisiting the body piercer for an evaluation at any time, if needed
Practicing good hygiene.
Following the recommended aftercare guidelines for your body piercing type
Taking sufficient supplement tablets Iron, zinc.
Behaviour that hinders healing of the body piercing
Contact between the new body piercing and another person's skin or bodily fluids
Excessive and unnecessary touching of the body piercing, especially with unwashed hands
Failure to take proper aftercare measures
Smoking and drinking alcohol (in the case of oral piercings)
Exposure of the body piercing to irritating substances such as cosmetics, perfume, lotion, some topical ointments, etc.
Immersion in chemically-treated pool water, or natural water (i.e. lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans) which contains bacteria, protozoa, and parasites
Cleaning with tea tree oil as it keeps the wound open
Cleaning oral piercings
Dermatologists normally recommend no rinses after surgery to the oral mucosa because it heals itself extremely well without any interference; however body piercers have adopted ritualized healing techniques that are thought to work because the client heals. There is some evidence that the following body piercer recommended techniques can do harm if the solutions used are too strong, or if overused.
Common folk treatments recommended by body piercers include but are not limited to: For , tongue lip, cheek, labret and , it is recommended to rinse the mouth after smoking, eating and drinking (except water). Listerine (or any mouthwash containing alcohol) is too harsh on the piercing and will most likely dry out the piercing, so it is recommended to get a non-alcoholic mouthwash, or a diluted saline solution, such as Biotene, or TECH 2000 or use a diluted Listerine solution (half Listerine, half water). Several companies make an alcohol-free mouthwash with sea salt as an ingredient. Kissing and oral sex are advised against for 4-6 weeks after the initial piercing, as are excessively hot or spicy foods. Some recommended cold foods are ice cream bars, slushies, and the like to dull the pain. Additionally, anti-inflammatories (such as ibuprofen) can help reduce swelling.
Body piercings
Body Piercers generally advise using a sea salt rinse (1/8 teaspoon per 8 oz./250 ml of distilled or boiled water) (proportionate mixes are marketed and sold by some companies) or a medical saline rinse, which could be placed in a small glass and held on the body piercing for about 10 minutes, not more than twice a day. The solution could also be soaked into a cotton ball and used to gently cleanse the body piercing twice a day. Overcleaning and use of inappropriate cleansing agents are common causes of irritation and redness in a piercing. Cleaning the piercing 2-3 times a day should be sufficient. Epsom salt diluted in water is also very effective in the healing process or when swelling and pus, or other signs of a possible infection develop. Another technique is sometimes practiced in which a new body piercing is left to heal completely on its own without any cleansing, under the philosophy that the body will treat it as any other minor wound. This is commonly called the LITHA method, which stands for "Leave It The Hell Alone." Body Piercers who use this method compare the healing process to getting stitches to heal up surgical wounds. Since one wants the body to accept the body jewellery and create a clean, firm fistula, body piercers who use this method advise that any solution or chemical could irritate the body piercing, cause rejection, and promote scarring and keloids.
There are some rinses used in ear and body piercing aftercare that have excess chemicals that tend to hinder the healing process. For the most part, piercers agree that hydrogen peroxide and isopropyl alcoholare effective in sanitation but are too strong for fresh body piercings and often result in irritated body piercings or excess scar tissue.
The debate over what constitutes proper aftercare is belied by the simple fact that a healthy clean body piercing that isn’t made to become irritated through harsh treatment (of any kind) will almost always heal perfectly; but personal preferences will vary. Remember, almost any disease that can exist in a vagina, anus or mouth can easily be transmitted to a hole in the skin, even if the hole appears to have healed completely.
Changing of initial body jewellery to allow swelling
For some body piercings (in particular tongue piercings) changing the initial body jewellery is an essential step. In the case of tongue piercing this is because the initial body jewellery is significantly longer than the jewellery for a healed piercing, to allow for swelling of the tongue
Discharge on the body jewellery
During the primary healing process, it is normal for a white or slightly yellow discharge to be noticeable on the body jewellery. Provided there is no pain or swelling, it does not usually signify an infection. This is the dead skin cells and body fluid, blood plasma, It can look unsightly, and may be a little difficult to remove as it can set solid very quickly. Another name for such discharge is "lymph" which is a fluid produced by the body's lymph nodes - this tends to be a regular occurrence in the healing of a body piercing as well as long as there are no signs of pain or swelling.
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